Rocket City Blog

Reeths-Puffer Schools have taken to the airwaves, and the airwaves have clearly taken to Reeths-Puffer Schools. At the conclusion of the 2014 school calendar, eighty-eight sixth grade students from Reeths-Puffer Intermediate engaged in a persuasive writing exercise: researching, writing, revising and rehearsing 60-second radio commercial scripts promoting Rocket City, the home of Reeths-Puffer Schools.

“This was a new twist on the persuasive writing component,” said Reeths-Puffer Superintendent Steve Edwards, “and the kids took this well beyond our expectations.” The scripts were submitted and judged anonymously, and five winning students were chosen to work in collaboration with Wheeler Creative Studios, Clear Channel Communications and Sound Post to produce the spots. Terri Portice, Reeths-Puffer Director of Teaching and Learning, was also pleased with the outcome. “This is a great example of real world writing applications,” said Portice, “and the level of involvement and collaboration with area businesses was extraordinary.” To celebrate the students’ accomplishments, all five winners were guests on the locally syndicated talk show, Radio Juniper. The students discussed their work, the process of writing and producing spots, and then shared their work with a world premiere on WKBZ, WVIB and WWSN. The show was a huge hit for the students and their families, and the students’ efforts were also huge hits on the national stage. One of the five winning commercials was honored nationally with the 2014 Award of Distinction from the Communicator Awards, and the Radio Juniper broadcast that featured the five winners (known as The Rocket Radio Five) was also given national recognition, receiving the 2014 Platinum Hermes Award for Outstanding Radio Program. The students were honored for their work and received their awards at a special July meeting of the Reeths-Puffer School Board. School Board Vice-President Mike Weessies was happy to have the students recognized. “This is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Weessies, “and the national recognition these students received makes it all the more impressive.” According to Portice, there is more collaborative work on the way. “Having the kids work directly with area businesses like this is a win-win situation,” said Portice. “Everyone involved expressed interest in continuing this program and expanding it as well. We certainly intend to build on this success.”